Years ago I happened to be at a Los Angeles food event where caterers were showing off their most celebrated dishes. I was struck by a platter of slightly wrinkled pears drizzled with ribbons of glossy red glaze.
I had never considered cooking a pear with the skin on. I was in a hurry and didn't have a chance to get the recipe, but I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was a spectacularly elegant yet rustic dessert that seemed easy to put together. After all, no peeling required.
On my first try, I cooked the pears so long that the fruit was too soft and the glaze was concentrated with a decidedly burnt aftertaste, definitely not my best culinary moment. The next attempt resulted in a wonderful dessert that was not too heavy and was truly artful to look at.
I have made so many variations along the way that I can honestly say this is one dessert that you can make your own. Try substituting pomegranate or cranberry juice for the port, or use only red wine, or try a sweet dessert wine flavored with a vanilla bean.
I hope you'll try the pears whether you are serving a crowd or just a small group. Serve them at room temperature or reheat them just before serving; either way, the dessert will shine.
Baked pears in red wine and port glaze
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
2 cups dry red wine, such as merlot or cabernet sauvignon
1 cup tawny port
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 piece (2 inches long) lemon or orange zest
8 Bosc pears, ripe but firm, with stems attached
Fresh mint leaves
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the red wine, port, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon or orange zest to a simmer in a medium nonaluminum saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cinnamon stick.
2. Core the pears from the bottom; cut the bottom flat so pears stand upright. Wrap a small piece of aluminum foil around each stem to protect it from burning.
3. Place the pears stem side up in a large baking pan; pour the wine mixture over them. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the wine mixture.
4. Remove pears from the oven; carefully remove the foil from the stems. Transfer pears to a serving platter.
5. Pour off the remaining wine mixture into the saucepan. Heat to a simmer on medium-high heat; reduce the wine until it becomes a glaze. Spoon the glaze over the pears. Garnish with fresh mint leaves; serve warm, with vanilla ice cream if you like.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: 197 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 51 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 2 mg sodium, 5 g fiber.
